


Chasing that Paradise

by sokki09



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghosts, Force Visions, Naboo - Freeform, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 09:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15603480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sokki09/pseuds/sokki09
Summary: "Rey." Anakin said, in a dream-like voice, his words crisp but his voice soft. "You are strong in the ways of the Force. You have learned so much. But to face your greatest task, once and for all, you must first go to the planet of Naboo."





	Chasing that Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this before tlj and i had to tweak it a bit to be canon but honestly i was so close to guessing what actually happened and that just shows you how much i love what they did in tlj (even if the movie is a wee bit long and has its problems).
> 
> title from Paradise by Ellie Goulding. 
> 
> hope you enjoy!! xx

She meditated on the balcony just outside her bedroom. The light breeze causes a few curls to escape her tighter-than-normal buns, as well as the nice scent of the water and the grass fields beyond.

 

She had never visited such a peaceful, serene planet. It made her happy, made her focus on the nice things and forget about her estranged past. Forget about the lonely nights, the tiny places she would wedge herself into to get a good piece of metal, and most of all, forget about the day everything changed; for better and for worse.

 

She was told what she already knew about her parents, watched her friends get injured and saw Han Solo get murdered in cold blood by his own son, Kylo Ren. She also found herself in connection with the Force, the power that drives the Galaxy, trying to balance the light and the dark.

 

She defeated Kylo Ren that day, and was able to go off in search of the man that the entire conflict revolved around; Luke Skywalker.

 

She soon began training with him. He seemed hesitant at first, rude and upset with the world and what he had done, but he soon started teaching her the basics of the Force. She knew he was holding back, though. He had every reason to do so, but she still wished he wouldn't.

 

Everything that occured with Ben during all of this only made the ideas of the Force cloudier for Rey. There was so much she wanted to learn, needed to learn, but everyone had their own agenda, their own wants and wishes. It wasn’t like Jakku where the only thing people thought about was surviving.

 

The connection was severed on Crait, and Rey wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. Her head told her it was a good thing to be rid of him, but her heart said other things.

 

The Resistance soon found refuge on the planet of Garel, hiding amongst the people of the city. One lonely night, she had a vision, of the most powerful Force-user in all of the Galaxy. 

 

Anakin Skywalker.

 

He had stood in front of her, in what looked to be the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. It seemed like it was in perfect condition, and Rey knew this was long ago, there was no way it still looked so pristine.

 

"Rey." He said, in a dream-like voice, his words crisp but his voice soft. "You are strong in the ways of the Force. You have learned so much. But to face your greatest task, once and for all, you must first go to the planet of Naboo."

 

"Naboo?" She had echoed. The name seemed familiar in a distant sort of way.

 

He nodded. "The planet is special. To me, to you." He told her. "But be careful, young one, that your heart does not cloud your mind out completely. Do not fall to the darkness, as I once did." He warned.

 

She had only nodded, unable to speak.

 

The next morning she told Leia all of it, but it seemed like she already knew. She wanted to leave immediately, and the General didn't slow her; all she said was that this was a task that Rey must face on her own.

 

_ May the Force be with you, _ Leia said to her, before she left.  _ Be Safe. _

 

_ Always. _ Rey had replied.

 

Once she had made it to Naboo, using one of the cruisers from the spaceport in Garel City, she wandered the streets of Theed for a few hours before stumbling across a woman, dressed in elegant yet subtle purple robes. The woman introduced herself as Taz'lae, a handmaiden for her royal highness, Queen La'bey’k. Rey asked if she knew of how the planet related to Anakin Skywalker.

 

The handmaiden's eyes widen in shock, and she quickly brought Rey to the Royal Palace of Theed. That evening, as the sun set on the beautiful world, Rey was taken before the Queen of Naboo.

 

“Who are you?” The Queen asked, atop her throne, covered in a beautiful maroon dress that draped over the entire chair. The regal nature of everything made Rey feel very underdressed in her simple tunic and trousers.

 

But for the first time in her life, she finally found that she had an identity to speak for. “My name is Rey. I am a Jedi in training.” She pauses as she sees the same shocked look on the Queen’s face as she saw on her handmaiden. “I was sent here by a vision I had of a great Jedi that once lived.” 

 

The room that was already silent seemed to quiet even more. The three guards around the queen tried to keep their stony expressions, but one of them had eyes wider than the sun, while another kept his head down, his nose barely visible from underneath his cap, and the handmaidens looked at each other in distress. 

 

The Queen swallowed. “What for?”

 

Rey shakes her head, “I don’t know.” She says, “I might have another vision, now that I’m here, but I can’t be sure.”

 

“Well, I will have one of my maidens make up a room for you. You can stay for as long as necessary, within reason.”

 

Rey nods and bows, before following the maidens out of the grand room, oblivious to the fact that her enemy was in the room.

 

Once they are gone, La’bey’k looks over to one of her guards; the one who had the wide eyes. “Is that the woman you are seeking?”

 

The man removes his cap, and bows, revealing a mop of black wavy hair. “Yes, M’Lady, she is.”

 

\--------------------

 

A few days later, Rey is standing with her feet shoulder length apart, meditating on the balcony outside of her room. She has had no more visions, but every afternoon, she meditates, while closing her eyes to the soft breeze that comes off the lakes surrounding the Palace.

 

The planet is one of the best she’s seen, and she doesn’t want to leave. Why couldn’t her parents have left her here instead of the desert? It didn’t make sense.

 

She loved the water, and the mountains in the distance, and the order that came from being in the Royal Palace. She loved her hair being tucked into tighter buns with help from Taz’lae, and the white colored dress that her new friend had also given her. She was content. 

 

Her happiness couldn’t last forever though, because she was on a mission; a mission to figure out whatever the hell Anakin had sent her here for.

 

Rey felt it before she heard it. Someone was in her room, and was making their way out onto the balcony. She opened her eyes. Their presence was different from the others she had met while on the planet. It was familiar. 

 

The intruder came onto the balcony. Rey couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her.

 

“You’ve come at last. To face the truth. To face me.” The man says.

 

_ Kylo Ren. _

 

He is in a guard’s uniform, and she wonders how she hadn’t noticed him before. She only could feel his presence now; had he been hiding his force signature before? His hair was neatly falling from the hat he wore, and his eyes were dimmer than they had been in the throne room. It seems that his anger ignites that certain fire she had noticed in his eyes previously.

 

“I didn’t come here for you.” She says, her hand slowly drifting to the lightsaber on her belt.

 

It had taken her an entire week of meditation and concentration to reassemble something that could ignite. It was nowhere near as pristine as the previous hilt was, but she was a scavenger, and an innovator of sorts, and if she could scrap together an entire speeder, she could make a saber hilt, and that she did.

 

“Didn’t you, though? Finally you realize the connection that has been forged between us isn’t going away.” No matter how much she wishes to think differently, it is Ben who is talking to her. Kylo Ren hasn’t met with her in a long time.

 

"But Anakin said..." She mumbles off before realizing her mistake. This man was obsessed with Darth Vader, the later name of Anakin.

 

"...Anakin?" Ren asks quietly; too quietly for her liking. "As in, Anakin Skywalker? The man who became Darth Vader?"

 

"Your grandfather…. Yes.” Rey confirms.

 

Ben steps forward, towards her. Rey stands her ground, but knows he must sense her growing fear. "How could he speak with  _ you? _ " He hisses. “You don’t know the anything about the Force!”

 

"I am a Jedi." Rey holds her ground stronger, her emotions boiling with each word, "And he sent me here for a reason."

 

"And what is that reason?"

 

She looks down, her jaw set with anger. “I don’t know,” She mumbles.

 

“Hm?” He raises his eyebrows, curious.

 

“I don’t know!” She all but yells. 

 

Ben steps closer. “Search your feelings, your emotions. You already know. You are just in denial.”

 

Rey turns away, and looks back out towards the lake. She stares out at the water, trying to focus her thoughts on other things, but all she can think about is the fact that he is right behind her, and her hand grips her hidden lightsaber.

 

Her eyes move to look towards the ground, and her hands fall to her sides as she feels the connection between them growing with each second.

 

"I hoped that it wouldn't be true." She murmurs. "I thought that if I trained, and I worked harder, that it was vanish; that it would go away. Snoke is gone, why are we still linked?"

 

Ben steps again towards her, but she stays still. She knows there is water welling up in her eyes, but she doesn’t care. It seems all she ever does is cry in front of this man.

 

"We are bonded through the Force, permanently," he says, almost gently. “You can’t ignore it any longer.”

 

“Then I’ll fight it.” Rey says, defiantly, “Just like I’ve fought everything else.”

 

“You can’t fight this!” Ben exclaims, his temper getting the best of him, that fire reigniting in his eyes. He takes a deep breath, flames extinguished for a moment. “You can’t fight me.” 

 

Rey turns back around and looks at him. “And if I do?”

 

“Then we will self destruct.” He returns, simply.

 

Rey laughs at him. “We’ve been self destructing for a long time, now, have we not?” She rolls her eyes at him. “Look at us, I gave you that kriffing scar and you’ve made me rethink everything I’ve ever known. We’re supposed to be enemies, but with this connection that we have, we can’t fight without killing ourselve--”

 

She is cut off by Ben sweeping her into a kiss, releasing all his emotions. She is taken aback, and would’ve fallen back if he had not caught her by wrapping one of his arms around her waist, while the other held her face, as he ran his thumb across her cheek.

 

Having never been kissed before, Rey is still for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck and up into his hair. He lets out a breathy exhale at the touch, and she leaned into him. He only tightened his hold on her, as if he never wanted to let go, and she held him, nevering having known how much she didn’t want this.

 

He pulled away though, and ran his thumb over her lips and cheeks, tracing the small desert freckles that covered her features. 

 

“We’ll figure it out.” He assures her. “We’ll figure it all out and go back to hating each other.”

 

“What are you talking about? I still do hate you.” Rey attempts to scowl, but the light smile she has just doesn’t seem to want to leave her face, creating the most adorable face that Ben Solo has ever seen.

 

“Oh?” Ben says, with a quirk of the eyebrow, “You hate me?” 

 

“Yes,” Rey says, leaning into him, as his forehead meets hers, “I truly… deeply… hate you.”

 

She sinks into another kiss, that she knows is wrong. But she doesn’t care.

 

She doesn’t care.

 

\--

 

They spend the afternoon, arguing and kissing on the balcony. At one point, Taz’lae comes with Rey’s evening meal, and goes to fetch another one. They stay away from talking about the war, but Ben argues about her training, continuously offering to teach her. After a while, he gives up, realizing how fascinated Rey is when talking about different planets, so he tells her about all the planets he’s been, leaving out the parts about how he only visited the planets because of raids and attacks.

 

She goes on for a while about how she scavenged and different ship parts before realizing he didn’t really care, but he listens anyway.

 

“What did my grandfather tell you?” Ben asks suddenly.

 

Rey frowns. “I’m not sure. He told me to come to Naboo, that I would face my greatest task here.” 

 

“Me.” He says, quietly.

 

“That doesn’t help! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Rey says, “Am I supposed to kill you? Join you?”

 

Ben dries his hands on a rag, after eating a juicy fruit. “I should go.”

 

“Why?”

 

“You need to think, meditate.” Ben tells her, “It will help.”

 

“I have been! I don’t know why I’m here! I don’t even know why Anakin was here!” Rey exclaims, standing up along with Ben. “What could a slave from Tatooine turned Sith Lord have to do with this serene, peaceful planet? Why is this place so important?”

 

She huffs as she crosses her arms and looks out over the lake, frowning.

 

“He fell in love here.” Ben states, glancing at her as he moves towards the door. “Maybe he believed you would as well.”

 

He leaves through the doors, and Rey doesn’t do anything as she watches him go, knowing that one day, somehow, some way, he will be back again.


End file.
